


Like Guardian Angels I'm Always Near

by Blue Eyes Black Dragon (OperaGoose), OperaGoose



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
Genre: M/M, season zero
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2014-10-10
Packaged: 2018-02-20 15:10:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2433254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OperaGoose/pseuds/Blue%20Eyes%20Black%20Dragon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OperaGoose/pseuds/OperaGoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A shadow vows to protect his host.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Guardian Angels I'm Always Near

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Glittering_Goldie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glittering_Goldie/gifts).



> The Ancient Egyptian used in this fic are as such:
> 
> ha - body  
> akh - one part of the Ancient Egyptian concept of soul, used in this fic to represent the consciousness  
> ba - one part of the Ancient Egyptian concept of a soul, used in this fic to represent the personality  
> sheut - shadow  
> iteru - river, or essentially The Nile.   
> ib - one part of the Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul, the heart which is weighed upon death

The last puzzle piece pushed into place, cementing a bond that years of energy and dedication had been laying the foundation of. 

He stretched into the new _ha_ , feeling the dimensions, how far his arms stretched, how tall he stood. For now, his host was safe, his akh tucked away in a room he had prepared just for his protection. Since Yugi had first began to solve the puzzle, the sheut had been able to hear the thoughts of the then-much-younger host. Yugi was someone to be protected, an innocent _ba_ who faced many hardships and adversaries. 

The sheut did not know anything about himself, but he had given himself a purpose—he would protect Yugi from anyone who intended him harm. 

A little further down the dark wall – _alleyway_ , Yugi’s knowledge offered – Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun lay unconscious against each other. They could be dealt with later – for now, he had to take their battered _ha_ and challenge the villain who had dared to harm his host. 

There was a deck of cards in his pocket—Yugi was never without some form of game. He formulated a trial for the villain, all he needed now was a long length of rope. 

The gods would decide the outcome of the game, the sheut thought, even as Yugi’s store of knowledge threw up figures of statistics and likelihood of card outcomes. The sheut shoved them aside – the gods were the true masters of chance. 

He found the villain – Ushio. He was a hulking beast of a man, much too tall and much too muscular. It set his teeth on edge, hatred rising like the high tide of the _iteru_. 

“So,” he said, letting Yugi’s tongue put the words in his own words, “it is game time.” Before the villain could turn to see him, a dart of power immobilized him. Just long enough for the sheut to find the right playing field for their game. 

Ushio said all sorts of nasty things to him once he woke from his haze, but in the end he was eager to prove himself and feed his greed. Greed would be his undoing, he suspected. But the sheut would face him in a fair game, test his _ib_. 

It wasn’t took long before Ushio proved his true nature, breaking the rules of the game. The sheut calmly warned him that there would be consequences, but the brute did not answer. As he fell, he watched the cheater snap the rope – intending to cut off the sheut, but not realising he had severed his own safety at the same moment. Small hands grabbed a ledge on the edge of the dome, catching the weight of the _ha_ and holding him suspended in the air. 

Above him, Ushio had his momentary victory poisoned. The sheut let his power fill the surrounding air, laying a trap for the villain’s mind. “The door to darkness has been opened.” 

The water was tumult with the panicked thrashing, air broken with screams and shouts for help to escape an imagined terror. 

The sheut slipped silently into Yugi’s mind, searching out the secret room he’d hidden the akh within. The small figure was curled up on a bed. He looked uncomfortable. The sheut, having seen his host’s home, understood why. When the sheut said ‘bed’, he thought of a flat, hard surface with a wooden pillow to elevate the neck. The bed in Yugi’s home was made of a soft ‘mattress’ with a fabric pillow stuffed with goosefeather. 

A burst of power released Yugi from his stillness. The delicate figure sat up, looking around in confusion. His eyes eventually landed on the sheut standing by the sealed doorway. “Who…who’s there?” 

The sheut stepped forward into the light, so that is figure became more defined. “Don’t you recognise me, Yugi?” 

“N-no,” the young one stuttered, squinting for a better view. “You’re just a shadow.” 

He recoiled, blending back into the darkness by the door. _Just_ a shadow! “You have no cause to fear,” he reassured Yugi. “I am here now. You are safe.” 

“Safe?” Yugi repeated, confusion obvious in the small pale features. “Safe from what?” 

“From all those who would intend you harm,” the shadow answered. “You can stay here, in this room, with all these games to keep you entertained. When you want company, I can come to provide that too. You don’t need to worry now.” 

“I can’t stay here,” Yugi said, agitated. “I have a life out there, my grandpa, my friends…” 

“I will take care of those things for you,” the shadow replied, stretching his arms out to touch his host’s face gently. “I have heard your thoughts, Yugi. I know of the cruelty of this world. Someone so bright shouldn’t have to face the cruelty in this world. I will protect you, you will stay here where it is safe and I will face that world for you.” 

“But it’s my life!” Yugi protested, getting to his feet. “You can’t take it from me.” 

The shadow hummed as he gave himself a moment to think. “Perhaps, we can arrange something then,” he said. “If there is ever danger, or adversaries you have to face,” he proposed, “I will be your strength.” 

“I have my own strength,” Yugi insisted. 

The shadow did not take well to his deal being rejected. With an angry growl he crossed the room in the space of a blink, looming over his host. “I dealt with Ushio for you,” he snarled, “you ought to show me some gratitude!” 

“Ushio?” Yugi asked, frowning slightly. His eyes widened as he remembered. “He threatened me, he beat up my friends.” 

“I have taken care of that,” the shadow answered, surrounding the small figure in his arms. “He will not be any trouble for you or those bullies Jounouchi and Honda.” 

“They’re not my bullies!” Yugi shouted in protest. The shadow winced, retreating at the loudness of his host’s voice. “They’re just trying to teach you to be a man. Like friends.” 

“Do you wish them to be your friends, Yugi?” The shadow asked. “I could make it so, for a price.” 

“A price?” Yugi asked nervously. “What sort of price?” 

“What I’ve proposed,” Yami replied, “I will be your guardian, to protect you whenever you face danger.” He loomed closer, “but in addition to that, you will be mine. My Yugi, my companion my….partner.” 

“Your aibou,” Yugi repeated, frowning in confusion. “I… I suppose that’s fair.” 

“Stay here for a little while longer,” the shadow promised. “I have to pay a visit to your friend. Then I’ll be back, little Yugi.” He stroked a shadow hand over Yugi’s round face. “Until then, aibou.” 


End file.
